About Karlstad

Karlstad is the capital city of Sweden's Värmland county. The city, which is home to over 84,000 people, lies on the delta where the Klara river runs into Sweden's largest lake - Vänern, with its archipelago of 22,000 islands.

Karlstad’s history stretches back down through the ages to Viking times on the islet of Tingvalla, just outside the city.

Karlstad received its charter in 1584 and it is named after King Karl IX of Sweden ('Karl's town', or 'Charles' town).

The fine architecture, museums, traditional Swedish country houses, manors, buildings and historical sites in and around the city testify to Karlstad’s importance to the region and Sweden throughout the ages.

Adventure Paradise

Karlstad is a wonderfully compact Swedish city, built on a grid pattern with wide, tree-lined streets, avenues, promenades and squares.

It has a ‘big city’, grand feel, with many quality hotels and other accommodation options, with the advantage that Karlstad’s many attractions are just a short walk away. These include shopping streets, malls and arcades; cultural and historical sites; urban nature activities; parks; transport and amenities. Don’t forget that this is childfriendly Sweden and youngsters are welcome everywhere in Karlstad.

If you look for Karlstad on a map of Sweden, you’ll find it in the west of the country, on the northern shore of Lake Vänern.

Just north of the city, you will find yourself out in the wilderness, in a outdoor adventure paradise. Here there is kayaking, canoeing and timber rafting holidays. Fishing trips, camping and wildlife spotting making Karlstad one of the most child-friendly winter sports resorts in Sweden. All of this is within a two-hour travel radius of Karlstad.